If Bugsy's Wall's Could Talk...
Very few people may be aware of Bugsy's humble beginning.
The original Bugsy Malone's [which was first named "Station 843"] was opened in August of 2000 in small 50 person capacity basement on Glenstone Ave. Wayna Dean [The proprietor of Bugsys] opened up the first night Bugsy Malone's with exactly $43 to her name and her trusty bike that she bought after selling her car to afford the alcohol to run the bar. Like most great stories, things seemed bleak at first. Wayna had her entire financial wellbeing riding on the success of the bar, and as she puts it, "Just didn't expect anyone to come".
Much to her surprise, 200 people were waiting in the parking lot to come in and support their favorite bartender.
And the support didn't stop there.
In order to keep the bar running, there wasn't a whole lot of money in the budget for decorating. As a lot of people probably already know, the men in Wayna's family have a long history of being fireman [including Wayna's husband]. So, fireman that frequented the bar started bringing in memorabilia until it took shape into the fireman theme that it still is today.
As the Bugsy's grew, it quickly became an alternative bar to go to instead of downtown and started to rapidly grow a regular crowd. One of those regulars, Brett Johnson came in one day to book a band. Soon after, another regular, Mark Archambault, decided that Bugsys should have Karaoke.
If you think the story stops there, you'd be missing the most pivotal and quite possibly legendary ingredient to Bugsy Malone's success...
The Mug.
Wayna decided that for $10, her patrons could recieve a 32 ounce mug filled with Coors Light that is famously chilled to perfection. But the deal doesn't stop there...You get seven. That's a lot of beer [almost 21], and lot of bang for your buck.
Bugsys Grows Even More
With all of these essential ingredients in place, it was only natural that after time the bar would out grow it's 50 person capacity basement. Bugsy's soon acquired the upstairs of their original location, and quickly grew out of that, leading them to the location in Downtown Springfield Missouri they are currently at. [Oh, and they had to expand to the space next door soon after AGAIN].
And that's how Bugsy Malone's was born.
How Bugsy's Got it's Name
Now, a lot of people when they hear the name "Bugsy Malone's" they think of prohibition era gangsters because of the 1976 musical film Bugsy Malone which detailed the exploits of people such as Al Capone. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Bugsy Malone's actually recieved it's name from Wayna's notoriously generous mother [who was nicknamed by the locals "Bugsy Malone"] when she became seriously Ill.
Anyone that has been to Bugsy's and talked to Wayna can attest to the fact that Wayna's mother's generosity and kindness lives on in the spirit of the bar in the way that Wayna treats everyone like family and also in the fact that she donates a percentage of the bar's profits every month to a charity in Africa.
The Next Chapter
So come on in...sit down... have a beer... and become a part of the next ten years of Bugsy Malone's history.
